Bare Bones Tempura

I remember having homemade tempura many years ago, but I know it best from the menus of more East Asian restaurants than I can name. It has always been mysterious to me; the batter and frying process seemed finicky, the ratios difficult. It was the sort of thing I assumed was best left to professionals. For Sixteen Pizzas, these criteria are my bread and butter.

My research for making tempura illuminated a few pleasing facts. Firstly that broccoli, carrots and other vegetables common in Western cooking are not traditional or desirable choices - which I agree with. I have had tempura broccoli with stems that were unevenly cooked due to their irregular shape. What is recommended are Japanese yams [a new favorite of mine], Chinese eggplant [the long, bright purple kind], and green beans or okra. Once sliced, these vegetables all heat and fry evenly.

Another pleasant surprise was that the batter could be made very simply, and I ended up using the bare minimum: cold water and cake flour. I used a fine flour intended for Vietnamese fried cakes, but any cake flour will do. In a pinch, substitute a mixture of two parts all purpose flour and one part cornstarch.

My simplistic approach was inspired by reading the outlandish ingredients suggested by some unnamed chefs and critics. Suffice it to say, I doubt any Japanese restaurants are putting vodka in their tempura. Another time I would use eggs, as the batter did have some issues adhering to the vegetables. On the plus side, this resulted in a lighter crispness, which I prefer to heavy, fast-food style tempura.

Because I went bare bones on the main ingredients, I wanted to add something extra to garnish. I settled on rough grated ginger and daikon, marinated in mirin and soy sauce. At least a few days are required to properly pickle, but just a couple hours still imparts a zingy flavor complement. This worked better for the daikon, as the ginger was very fresh, it's flavor sharp on its own.

Ingredients:

3 portions of soba or other noodles

2 Japanese yams

2 Chinese eggplants

½ Pound green beans or okra

2 inch piece of ginger root

2 inch piece of daikon radish

1½ cups cake flour

1½ cups cold water

Mirin

Soy sauce

Oil for frying

Grate daikon and ginger, or slice in short, julienne strands. Place ginger and daikon in a separate bowls and pour equal amounts of mirin and soy sauce over each until they are mostly submerged. Refrigerate for at least an hour. 

Slice yams and eggplant into thin rounds, about ¼ inch thick. Rinse green beans [or okra] and remove the ends if you wish. In a small or medium bowl, mix cake flour and cold water. Stir very little and gently to avoid bubbles, just enough that the flour is wet and lumpy. Heat oil for frying. Because the vegetables are thin, it is not necessary to use a ton of oil, but it should be at least ¾ of an inch deep. Keep the oil at a high heat, but it should not be smoking hot [yes, I learned the hard way not to listen to the many recipes that told me to keep turning the heat up]. Dip the vegetables into batter and fry in batches. The yams will take the longest; even once mine were golden brown, they were not as tender as I hoped. Once sliced, I recommend softening them first, either in the microwave or a steamer. 

While the tempura fries, prepare noodles for serving. I had no soba on hand, so I substituted egg noodles. Most Asian noodles take no time at all to cook [or about 4-5 minutes, reference any package instructions for whichever variety you use], so I recommend preparing them when the tempura is almost finished. 

Once everything is done, serve equal portions of yams, eggplant and green beans or okra on a nest of noodles. Add a dab of the daikon and ginger on the side and try combining them on your fork or chopsticks with the other flavors. My favorite was eggplant with daikon. Serves 3 - 4.

I felt a steep learning curve during this week's adventure. The batter was light, but did not stick as well as I hoped. While soy sauce for dipping, and the ginger and daikon kept things from going bland, the batter itself had very little flavor. I look forward to revisiting tempura - maybe I will try more elaborate vegetables next time.